Still, we managed to get a few contrarian words into the story, sparked by the reporter’s question of whether NFL quarterback Tom Brady qualified as a dandy. We replied that there’s a simple way to find out.

Quotes the article:

But Christian Chensvold , founder of the website Dandyism.net, points out that a dandy is more than a well-dressed man. “The magic of dandyism resides in the interplay between the dandy’s temperament and his appearance,” Chensvold writes on his website.

He contends that a dandy isn’t just someone who dresses well — therefore he rejects the idea that many current celebrities are dandies. Instead, he sees a dandy as a package of personality and appearance. A dandy speaks eloquently and spends his free time immersed in cultural and intellectual pursuits. He even offers a quiz on his website to determine if you are a dandy.

“I think the real dandies are people we don’t know,” Chensvold said in an e-mail. “In other words, they’re not famous, though they may be celebrated to an extent, such as the English writer Nick Foulkes. I’m also biased in that I see the legacy of dandyism as largely literary in nature, and I’m more likely to vote for men such as Foulkes and Tom Wolfe.”

And on the same day the Wall Street Journal takes on the subject with this corker:

We know a dandy when we see one. Three-piece or double-breasted suit of ineffable, enviable fit, often in rainbow-trippy tweeds, tattersalls and velvets. Pristine collar, tie and pocket square. Vivacious socks. Shoes pampered and polished. A boutonniere, hat, walking stick—or all three—as grace notes. The dandy has the disciplined vigor of a Bach fugue, the ebullience of a male warbler in spring plumage.

It’s getting so old and boring hearing one blogger after another witter on about what constitutes dandyism. After the basic creation of the concept: a sort of dress that wasnt French court inspired ‘foppishness’, people now just add to the list whatever characteristic appeals to them and tickles their fancy.

Chensvold has no more idea of what his concept of ‘dandyism’ is than any other average style hack, recycling articles for the umpteenth online style magazine.

Knock it off. None of you are ‘dandies’. Stop playing like children and learn to live in the grown-up world.